First thing I noticed, something I learned from the Die Hard DVD commentary....
In HEAT, the characters are positioned firmly in the left/right of the frame - left = sympathetic, right = strong. Sounds crazy, but it works.
In LA Takedown, one character is more or less central in the frame, and the character that is sympathetic in HEAT is in the right of the frame, making him strong.
Which is perhaps at least one reason the HEAT scene works so much better.
Cos I don't think there is ONLY one reason. It's not the writing, it's not the acting, it's not the direction and it's not even the production values. It's ALL of those things - simply much improved filmcraft, if you will.
Either way, nothing can diminish the quality of HEAT, anymore than finding some early sketches or rough paintings of some blokes sitting at a table would diminish The Last Supper.
Just IMHO
